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Character Alias: NazomiReal Name: Nicolas ReidAge: 27Class: Long ArmPhysical Description: Nazomi ––or rather his creator— knows that his appearance is off-putting if not creepy. That was the point after all when he was designed. Possessing a wide frame but a distinct lack of weight to it he looks as if in the beginning stages of lethargy and starvation. Thankfully the body is not entirely devoid of muscle; toned but only enough to provide some sign of life in the character. This is most evidenced in his limbs which the muscle is much more easily noticed. A lanky 6’2 –mostly due to the length of his arms and legs— with gray eyes and almost deathly pale creates the image of some newly buried man having just clawed his way out of a grave. Clothing only does so much to alleviate this since the character walks in long dragging steps at times. There are also physical traits that stand out more than they rightly should, but are somehow accented by the tones of his flesh.

The first would be that the length of his body is ritually scarred. The patterns aren’t intricate in the literal sense of the word; the most noticeable is simply a thick line cut from sternum to pelvis, with similar old wounds branching out to circle the rest of his torso. Another runs from the top of the sternum, along the center of his throat, and up to his chin. At this point the scar separate into two curves, each drawn to a different side of his lips. Those that cover his arms and legs are typically more curved in pattern, which could be said resemble artistic flames if not for the manner in which they were tattooed into his body. Really, if one wished to be technical about it they would take the time to try and sort which was burned into the skin and which was carved.

His hair color is also stands out in the design. While a shaggy and unkempt mess of medium length, it is the emerald green color that usually attracts notice. If it does draw more attention than he would like it is of little concern since it was one of the few real preferences when creating the character. Should it become a concern it can be –much like the tattoos— hidden to some extent by the choice in clothing. The attire is simple enough, perhaps to accentuate the rest of the character since it is fairly ragged. Using medicinal tape that sometimes hangs off in strands aids the particular look that was desired. With it he has wrapped from hand to elbow, foot to knee, and the remainder hanging loosely around his midsection.

As far as actual clothing the outfit is not exceptionally colorful. Black cloth slacks cover any lower body needs without hindering any sudden movement should it suddenly be required of him, and a thick red cloth sash keeps them secured. The choice in upper body wear is a little more eccentric with some sort of hooded garnet colored robe with the sleeves torn off. With the tails of the robe sufficiently torn and tattered it only hangs as far as his knees, and only the less ragged parts. Atop the robe he wears something similar to a black karate gi with the hem colored gray; again with the sleeves ripped away. Both gi and robe are left hanging open to prevent from feeling suffocated in his clothing. Further accenting the clothing are the armor pieces worn with it. From wrist to shoulder on his right arm is protected with varying types of leather armor. A fingerless leather glove covers up to mid-forearm with metal plates sown along the top to create something similar to a cestus. The remainders covering his arm are straps and belts that end just below the shoulder, which is itself protected by a segmented spaulder that seems to shine like stained brass. His left arm is only covered from mid-forearm to his hand with a leather bracer and matching glove, but the detail in both is far more than that of the armor on his right side. Intricate patters are engraved into the metal portions of each, with the glove itself having segmented metal covering the fingers and creating clawed tips that allow it to be used as a secondary weapon if need be.

Personality: For those that choose to use The World for creativity, fun, or whatever reason have good enough cause to separate themselves from their characters. For Nicolas there is no need to do such things. He did not join the game for the interaction nor is he any sort of writer or day dreamer. His choice to play the game, put simply, is purely for the escapism that it provides. It is more than an outlet than mindless gaming, though if pressed he wouldn’t be able to explain exactly why he feels it is different, simply that it is enough that he does. The World provides him as much an opportunity as it does a means of enjoyment.

Part of him finds the game fascinating for various reasons. While not exceptionally intelligent Nicolas does make his living as a programmer and coder; a skill set that he was able to instruct himself through a combination of perception and stubbornness. The problem with being self-taught is that his understanding of what he does is not as others would identify with; thus the majority of his work is freelance, which for his purposes is fine as it gives him freedom and little forced interaction to complete his projects. The complexity of The World intrigues him for that reason, in addition to the other prospects it provides.

Though he rarely acknowledges others long enough to use it his perceptiveness is a boon in dealing with them. Being able to read people can be immensely helpful, but given his seclusion Nicolas is more adept at picking up on tone and the language used. While not well developed enough to predict what a person will do it is generally an accurate way to gauge those he comes into contact with. It is unfortunate that his cynicism skews this at times, due either largely to his mistrust of others or as a defense mechanism. Those he can’t read are actually worse than those that he can since he has no method to discern their intent; thus they are the ones that he is quickest to cut any contact with to side step any possible problems. At least in theory; life is not always as kind to make those attempts easy.

While apparent that Nicolas is not a people person, he is not entirely anti social. Others simply present a risk that he is not often willing to take when he is content -as much as he can be- with his life as it is. When it happens, as rare an occurrence as it is, it is often because the person exhibits either a quality he values or because intrigue has somehow managed to convince him to overcome his inhibitions. Being drunk on occasion can help facilitate this since he is so much less harsh once he’s had a few to loosen up. That can stir up a different set of troubles, but luckily none that should affect his time in game aside from slurring or somewhat erratic behavior.

It is true though that Nicolas has a harsh personality, be it online or in reality. While not as short tempered as he appears he is impatient and is obviously aggressive in his speech and mannerisms. He does not like to waste time, his own or another. To do so elicits an oddly apologetic response if the blame can fall on him. He has no problem with allowing others to know when they have slighted him in this way, intentional or not. While it generally manifests as a sharp word or two directed towards the person he has no issue with, he is not beyond shoving or trying to physically move past them if he believes it necessary. This is just a specific example in a long list of ways that he lacks manners, but a consistent one.

A point of contention that Nicolas will make every time is that he is almost violently self-reliant. He respects strength, both physical and willpower but holds himself to the standard that anything he earns must be with his own hands. While he may appreciate genuine gestures of kindness, he will only be respectful in his response so many times before it begins to become irritating. So while he may offer his aid to someone else, it is a dire set of circumstances that would force him to ask for anything. Strength to as he would define it does not make one weaker when compared to him, or when he is compared to another. The meaning is as personal and a part of him as breathing, one that he is sometimes too eager to fight for, even if the fight isn’t his to begin with.

A pitched yowl, an annoying pressure against his head, and yet again his day began. Who needed alarm clocks when they could get their own little ginger bastard to wake them up when they wanted attention? Ever the scowl still on his face Nicolas pushed the cat off the bed before managing to roll out of it himself. The floor was still as cold as it had been the day before, good to know. He really did need to buy some slippers, a robe…clothes. Well he had clothes, just not any new ones for awhile. Of course it would help if a good fifty percent of his income didn’t wind up on the floor in the form of empty bottles and cans; which reminded him that somewhere there should have been an unopened bottle of vodka. How unfortunate for him that his clock told him it was a wee bit too early to ruin his liver any further. There was always the other sort of bottle, but even he wasn’t far gone enough to start abusing medication. There was a difference between taking the edge off and turning oneself into a drooling zombie after all.

The cat swatted at his head to see if he was awake, again. It wasn’t a question of whether or not the damned thing had food, because it did. Nicolas had seen to that before finally passing out last night. So why it sat, staring and impatiently slapping its tail around behind it was more than a little annoying. And of course it decided to move just out of reach when he wanted to strangle it. The only thing that kept him from seriously considering that the damned thing was the devil incarnate is that it had failed to kill so far. Oh it had tried, it just hadn’t succeeded yet. One would think the devil would have better luck with that sort of thing.

So he didn’t have much to be awake for, no projects and no new games. At least, no new games that looked to be worth half a damn. Anything currently out was crowded with eight year old who thought swearing and screaming made them tough; until their moms walked in at least. That part was always funny. What wasn’t funny is that he had pissed off most of the children in his apartment complex using those tactics. After one of them had taken it far enough to crack him in the back of the leg with a skateboard it seemed prudent to at least carry a stick outside on the occasions that he could wander out into the sunlight without his brain oozing out of the other side of his head.

So without anything else to do he might as well indulge the little ginger bastard for a bit, with the necessary caution of course. It was all too happy to lead him along at that. From the cold but comfy floor he followed it into his “living room” not that the apartment was big enough to really have one. It had enough space for his desk, computer, a TV and couch, but it still wasn’t much more than a small box attached to an open kitchen. If it was trying to show him another dead squirrel placed just so on the coffee table then Nicolas was going to go find some hairspray, a lighter, and a fire extinguisher. Fortunately for the cat it was smarter than that. Unfortunately for Nicolas it was smarter than that, as it lept up on the desk and yowled until he came close enough it could headbutt his arm.

“I’m going to turn on my computer and find cat porn or that you’ve been gambling using my debit card, aren’t I?” It didn’t answer of course, just sat looking pleased with whatever it felt it had accomplished. Since it seemed Nicolas would have to find out for himself what cat like depravity had been going on he turned on the screen to his admittedly nice rig. And while he expected graphic depictions of animals to float across his screen doing things that could not be unseen in almost crystal clarity, there was nothing but…well he did have an email according to the icon on his desktop. It’d be nice if it was some work or if his dad had finally figured out how to use a computer without causing any fires.

Fwd: You are invited to come join The World

Now where to begin; who in their right mind would send him an invitation to join an MMORPG or how did they get his email? It didn’t list a sender, which in of itself wasn’t exactly something that put him at ease. If it was a hacking attempt it was quite a piss poor one though, the only coding in it came from the mail client as far as he could tell, and a few that seemed to be legit from the company. Maybe the cat had done it? No it was a free trial. Unless it was much smarter than he gave it credit for and moonlighted as a CC employee while Nicolas slept it wasn’t very likely. Whatever the reason it was a bit odd to come out of nowhere, more so when he had never joined the following the game had because of what it was.

For the briefest moment he considered deleting it, but looking around there wasn’t much else to do. In some way it was kind of a rip, he’d have still have to pay for a few things, probably add some new software, but nothing that would strain him for cash. It wasn’t as if he was hurting for money, he’d been working pretty steadily the last couple months. Good paying gigs at that. Anything he’d need could be gotten from the store and set up with little effort. What was surprising was that he was so willing to go out and get it. Maybe he needed the entertainment more than he had realized? At the very least he could play it until the trial ran out, by then he’d have something else to do and the world would be back to its bright and merry ball of unrelenting stupidity.

Sorry about the delay here, Naz. You don't mind the nickname, do you? Everything is very much in order here. Excellent work. I'll be closing this topic momentarily. When that is done, feel free to put up a copy of your info in the profiles section and get to questing.